I absolutely love the creative freedom that comes with working with various product lines. The way that you style the art/merchandise says so much about what you believe, what you’re passionate about, and why you think your products rock. Styling has the power to connect to your audience in a way that encourages them to re-imagine their life, home, or office with your collection as an integral piece. So, let’s chat about four ways your can amp up your product styling.

Depth

I like to think about styling like I think about dressing for a crisp autumn day. Layers, layers, layers! You first need to choose your background. From there add the core pieces of your image (aka your product(s)). Then you can accessorize with various details. As you begin to build each layer, constantly step back and analyze how the composition is looking as a whole. If you tweak as you go, you’ll love the final product!

Texture

Using various textures in your product styling can add so much interest. It can also detract from your collection, so choose wisely. Are you styling a beautiful new print collection? Maybe you want to choose a slightly textured, yet neutral, background to begin building off of, like cheesecloth or linen. Are you styling a new candle you just added to your shop? Something colorful with a more modern texture (think: herringbone) would offset the smooth glass candle beautifully. The key is to always make decisions that amplify your product.

Natural Elements

Whether or not you consider yourself an outdoorsy person, everyone loves to see greenery and blooms. There’s something about bringing touches of the outdoors in that breathes life into our work. Consider adding a sprig of rosemary, a few peony blooms, or a large fig leaf to brighten and liven up your product images.

Clean Photography

To me, this may be the most important aspect of strong product styling. You could style the most beautiful composition in the world, but if the photography that captures it is lacking, it won’t look beautiful. That’s a fact. I like to say that the recipe for a gorgeous photograph is strong styling and impeccable photography. If you don’t consider yourself a photo expert, hire one! I promise you won’t regret it.

I hope these four pointers will help you create beautiful product images to show off your amazing work! Tell me, what’s your favorite thing about styling your products? I would love to hear in the comments!

Photography by Jordan Maunder / Originally published on Sage Paper Co.